Franklinton residents, police express frustration

Tensions between Franklinton residents and Columbus police came to a head last night during a town meeting designed to open up communication between the two.

Pamela Engel, The Columbus Dispatch

Tensions between Franklinton residents and Columbus police came to a head last night during a town meeting designed to open up communication between the two.

Frustrations have been building for years, and residents want better communication with police, said Rebecca Hunley, head of the safety task force for the Franklinton Area Commission.

Police were open to criticism presented at the meeting at the Gladden Community House and said they want the trust of Franklinton residents.

“We want you to trust us to protect you and serve you,” said Chief Kimberley Jacobs, who took the job in April. “We want to be visible; we want to be transparent.”

Some residents have complained that there isn’t sufficient response from police regarding neighborhood problems such as prostitution and noise violations.

“Police will tell us not to confront ... but we’re not getting the responses that it takes to solve (the problems),” Hunley said.

The more than 20 residents who attended the town meeting applauded Hunley after she listed examples of these problems, such as a prostitution house that she says has been in business for years.

Jacobs defended the Police Division and encouraged residents to call with as much information as possible so that officers can respond effectively.

“To say that officers aren’t doing their jobs, I would totally disagree,” she said. “What you don’t see, you don’t know.”

Jacobs said police need enough evidence to prosecute some of the ongoing crimes, and officers aren’t necessarily ignoring illegal activity. The more residents who call in, Jacobs said, the better the problem is documented.

Deborah Flanery, 50, has lived in Franklinton for three years and said she is frustrated with the level of crime in the neighborhood.

“I moved here from New York City,” she said. “This is worse.”

Some of those who live in the neighborhood don’t call in offenses because they fear retaliation, Hunley said. Also, some residents think that police won’t respond to nuisance complaints because they are a low priority.

Jacobs said residents should call in the complaints anyway, and that, although the police prefer to have a name and address from complainants, callers can choose to remain anonymous.

Residents also have recourse if they think police mishandled a situation or did not respond quickly enough. Anyone can call internal affairs at 614-645-4880 to lodge a complaint. Some residents at the meeting said they were unaware of this option.

“This is our community, and we feel the pain as much as you do,” said Sgt. Lowell Rector. “We’re doing our best.”

About eight uniformed officers attended the meeting.

“We as a community need to come together to fight these problems,” Rector said. “We can’t have an adversarial relationship. It won’t work.”

Pamela Engel is a fellow in Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Statehouse News Bureau.